Mogadishu — Somalia's army says it has killed 44 al-Shabab militants in the latest offensive against the group in the Lower Shabelle region.

Somalia's deputy information minister, Abdirahman Al-Adala, told state media Saturday that forces from the intelligence unit, with the support of international partners, killed 44 al-Shabab militants in the Ali Fuuto area, about 200 kilometers from the capital, Mogadishu, near the Kurtowarey district of the Lower Shabelle region.

The minister said the militants were regrouping at the time. The operation comes about a week after the Somali army said it killed 67 militants in the central Mudug region.

Somali security forces have been conducting major operations against al-Shabab since the start of the campaign last July. The government said in April that more than 3,000 al-Shabab fighters have been killed since the start of the military campaign, which has been supported by troops from Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya since those countries agreed in January to conduct joint military operations against al-Shabab strongholds.